


The Blood You Bleed (Is Just The Blood You Owe)

by ThatLesbian



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst and Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/F, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Inspired by the season 6 kidnapping theory, Kidnapping, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Abuse, Protective Kara Danvers, please mind the tags, this is dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:47:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27857025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatLesbian/pseuds/ThatLesbian
Summary: “Hey, Kara, open your eyes.”“S’ fine Lena. It just hurts.”“I know, honey, but you need to open your eyes, okay? Come on, Kara, let me see your eyes.”OR Everyone's favorite season 6 theory: The kidnapping scenario that wouldn't leave my mind since I saw it on Twitter, only with darker themes.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 41
Kudos: 217





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I am very excited to post my first work here! I wanted to do a take on the kidnapping theory, but my own dark twist to it since I'm a sadist like that :p  
> This is mostly just a sampling of what's to come, I will include TW's at the beginning of each chapter to follow as well. 
> 
> Disclaimer: The characters used in this fanfiction are not mine and were created by the CW. Nothing is mine except the mistakes and plot.
> 
> Title from Billie Eilish's "No Time To Die"

_“Let’s go take my brother down.”_

Kara groans as she comes to, the final fuzzy images of Lena and her shaking hands playing in her mind. She moves to sit up, blinking her eyes as she looks at the clean white walls and furniture. It takes a moment to register but yeah, this is _not_ her apartment.

_“What the hell.”_

She looks around at the unfamiliar space and she realizes she’s in a bed, clothed in pajamas that she _definitely_ doesn’t remember putting on and _definitely_ does not belong to her. She senses a soft breathing noise to her right and whips her head around to be met with dark locks of hair. 

_Lena._

She feels panic bubbling in her chest, something not sitting right with this whole situation. 

_Well you know, besides the fact that she’s in a strange apartment_

She leans over slightly and places a hand on Lena’s shoulder, shaking gently.

“Lena, wake up. Something isn’t right Lena, please wake up now.”

Lena groans softly and opens her eyes, a look of panic on her face as she notices the unfamiliar surroundings. She seems to take in the strange surroundings much quicker than Kara. She sits up in a hurry, feeling dizzy as she does.

“Shh, Lena, it’s okay. Well, it’s not. I don’t know where we are.”

Lena glances at Kara, seeing her face free from makeup and wearing a soft pink, silky looking pajama set. She glances to herself, taking note of her black one. 

“Kara, what the hell! Where are we and who changed my- _our_ , clothes!” Lena demands, voice wavering slightly. She jumps out of bed, panic settling deep inside her chest as she runs to the door. She needs to get _out._

Kara is quick to follow suit, “I don't know, I remember shaking your hand, and I can’t remember anything else.”

Lena doesn’t look at her simply flings open the door to the bedroom they are in, exiting into a large space, decorated lavishly and modernly. It looks like any apartment, nothing nefarious about the white couch that sits on one side of the room, or the kitchen with it’s lovely marble countertops. No, nothing suspicious at all.

Kara steps into the space looking around, it is all very bland, no signs that anyone has made this a home. Except for the wall on the opposite side of the kitchen. Pictures.

Kara quickly walks to the wall, her face contorting in confusion as she recognizes Lena’s family and her own. She unconsciously wraps her arms around herself, as if that could stop whatever nightmare they’ve been dropped into.

“Lena,” she croaks out, “something isn’t right. We need to leave.”

Lena walks to her side and her face scrunches. She recognizes some of the photos, displayed at the Luthor Mansion. 

The Mansion.

Lena shakes her head, bringing her hand up to Kara’s arm, turning her head to face the woman. “It’s Lex.”

Kara looks at Lena, worry lining her features.

“Do you remember something?” 

Lena seems to think about her question for a moment. She lifts her left hand then, bringing it to the back of her head. She feels the sizable lump and cakey blood she hadn’t noticed before in her attempt to escape the bedroom. 

_Well that explains why her head was throbbing_ , she thinks with a grimace.

Kara turns to her and grabs her hand. 

“We need to leave now.”

They walk quickly to the door, Kara reaching for the handle. The second her hand makes contact, it glows a sickly shade of green and she withdraws it with a hiss.

Lena, not missing a beat, throws her hand to the door, and a shock wracks her body. 

“Fuck!” she yells, cradling her hand.

They simply stand there for a few seconds, unsure of what to do, and then the door moves.

The door handle moves. And _excuse her, but Kara is pretty sure that thing just sent her and Lena into quick bouts of pain so who in the hell is opening it._

She gets her answer when she is met by Lex Luthor, a smug smirk on his face. 

“I see you’ve uncovered one of my special features. Particularly useful for keeping pesky Kryptonians from ripping a door off its hinges. It’s simply unfair, I couldn’t very well give you such an easy means of escape.” He closes the door, walking closer to the girls. “I considered a cage at first; straight to the point, reliable. But I am a man of class, and I found an apartment to be much more enjoyable for the two of you.”

“How thoughtful of you,” Lena spits at him, anger clouding her eyes and settling into her jaw, “thank you for taking our comfort into consideration when you bashed our skulls in and undressed both of us while unconscious.”

Lex smiled, walking to the kitchen, leaning into the counter there.

“So you like the pajamas?”

Kara rushed to the counter and slammed her hand down, angry at Lex’s snarkiness.

“Listen to me Lex, if you think you thought everything through then you got another thing coming. You forgot about my sister and the big ol’ band of aliens we work with, and don’t get me started on her new found love of guns.” She sneers at him.

Lex simply laughs, quiet and reserved before lifting his head to look her in the eye.

“And just what exactly makes you so confident I haven’t killed them all, too?”

Two things happen at once, Kara dives for Lex’s throat, and Lena asks a simple one worded question.

“Too?” she says just as the apartment turns a familiar tint of green.

Kara falls against the counter in agony, Lena rushing to her side.

Her brother straightens out his collar and looks at Lena.

“Turn it off!” She cries, Lex ignoring her.

“Yes,” he begins instead, “too. If you thought I brought you here with any intention of you leaving alive, well, I’d guess you don’t know me as well as I thought, Little Sister.”

Kara continues writhing in agony, Lena’s hands on her shoulders, hunched over beside her.

In an instant, the room is bathed in the normal white light again, Kara taking a moment to breathe through the residual pain left in her body.

“So what,” she pants, holding herself up on shaking forearms, “you’re just gonna kill us? You’ve brought us here to kill us? Seems like an awful lot of trouble even for you.”

Lex tsks, waving a finger mockingly in her face.

“Now, I would never be so predictable Kara. I thought in the time we’ve gotten to know each other you would’ve realized my flair for the dramatics.”

He begins moving slowly, deliberately around the counter.

“No, no. You see, I don’t like when people make a fool out of me, Ms. Danvers. And a fool, is exactly what you made me out to be. Sending that filthy Coluan to capture the earth benders behind my back,”

Lena chose this point to make herself known again.

“Brainy stopped Leviathan?”

Lex stops his leisurely walk around the island, his look of disgust turning into a smirk.

“Yes, he did. Which is exactly why I had to kill him.”

Kara feels her throat close up at the mention of her friend.

“No, you’re lying. Brainy is alive, I- I know it.”

“Well, I suppose you’ll never know. But, wherever it is you disgusting maggots go when you die, you can check for him there when I’m finished with you.”

In an instant Kara sees his arm reach out, and she brings up a fist to fight, only the hand never reaches her, instead tangling itself in the dark silk of Lena’s hair.

With a yank she falls to the floor, and Kara raises herself up tall, pulling back to swing at Lex when the room becomes green once again.

She falls to her knees, helpless to watch Lena be dragged, kicking and screaming by Lex to the door.

She screams for him to let her go, take her instead, but Lex simply smirks and assures her she’ll get her turn all in good time.

A beep is heard and then he is reaching for the door handle, Kara sees the fear register on Lena’s face. He pulls it open and hoists Lena up, throwing her into the hallway outside the door, Kara hears the crack as she hits the wall opposite the door.

She screams her name again, as if that would somehow change any of this, make Lex bring her back into their prison, but he simply turns, grabs the handle of the door and looks at Kara’s crumpled body on the floor.

“Say goodbye to Lena, Supergirl. I haven’t quite decided when I’ll bring her back.” 

The last thing Kara sees is Lena’s face turning toward her, and they lock eyes for a split second before the door slams closed. The look in Lena’s eyes is one Kara will take with her to her grave.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara investigates the apartment where they are being held captive, we find out how Alex is handling all of this and get a little backstory.

The light had gone white as soon as the door closed. Kara raised herself on shaky feet, not wanting to waste a second. She strode to the door, and grabbed the handle. Once again, her body lit up with the pain of Kryptonite. Jerking her hand away, she cursed.

_ “What the hell are you doing.”  _ She thinks as she walks over to the windows on the living side of the apartment. 

She pulls back a heavy black curtain and pulls a fist back, ready to punch open the window. She swings and,  _ crack _ .

A scream leaves her throat at the force of which her punch is returned, sent hurtling back toward her body. She pushes her glasses down, eyes ready to scan to see what the hell could be shatterproof to her super strength. She sees nothing.

_ Lead. _

Of course the bastard would use lead. She considered Lena’s ability to break the glass, considering she didn’t have any super powered weaknesses, but she entertained it for merely a second. There’s no way Lex would leave an easy option such as glass, no. She touches the window again,  _ zap _ . The widows are also electrified.

She sinks to the ground, head in her hands. She is alone in a lead lined, electrified apartment, meant to trap her and Lena here for god knows how long. She lets out a broken sigh when she thinks of Lena.

_ Where did he take her? What is he gonna do to her? Oh god, what if he’s killed her and then she’ll be alone in this hell? _

She shakes her head. “No.” She says firmly, wiping at the tears that have managed to escape, she can’t think like that, she won’t. And surely, Lex is a lot of things, but he’s never tried to kill Lena.

Okay, that’s a lie, if her quarterly assassination attempts are anything to go by. But he’s never tried to kill her with his  _ bare hands _ . The thought provides her minimal comfort.

She breathes a few more times, trying to calm her racing heart, and stands. She has no idea when Lena will be back, but until then she figures she isn’t going to be a sitting duck. There has to be something in the apartment that could help their escape.

She notices the apartment is simple, just the large living area and kitchen, and then the bedroom they had woken in. Inside the bedroom is a bathroom, and through the bathroom there is a large walk in closet. In the closet she finds clothes lining each side, what unnerves her the most is how closely they resemble something she would wear. 

_ He’s been watching her. _

What she assumes to be Lena’s side is much the same, beautiful,  _ expensive _ , dresses, suits and even designer jeans and tops.

She looks to her body, still clad in the silky pajamas and quickly pulls them off, grabbing from her side a pair of jeans and sweater. If Lex thought she would be wearing a dress while trying to escape then he was out of his depths.

She exits to the main area once again, intent on surveying and picking up as many details as possible. She walks to the kitchen and begins opening cabinets, she finds dishes and in some of them food. She moves to the refrigerator and finds it fully stocked.

_ “As if he thinks we’d eat anything he provided, probably poisoned.” _ She thinks bitterly.

She finds pots and pans underneath the island, silverware in a drawer, and a spinning rack full of spices. She slams the cabinet drawer closed, angry at all of the little things he put here, trying to make it seem normal, homey. She knows it’s just to mock them.

As she moves to the kitchen something catches her eye, a small flash.

She turns her head toward the movement and waits. 

_ Blink _ .

There it is again. She speeds to it, and upon inspection notices a camera.

He’s watching them, maybe he’s watching her right now. She moves her hand to the camera, ready to smash it, and the room is coated in green light.

She falls to the ground with a thud. Yeah, he’s definitely watching her.

The green goes away once more, but Kara remains on the floor. She rolls to her back and stares at the ceiling, how is she going to beat this?

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex Danvers was hysterical, when she had returned to Lena’s lab to find her sister and friend missing, traces of the sickly green color still lingering, she had been quick to call the martians and Nia, hoping they could find something pointing to where they were. 

The only piece of evidence they had found had been a canister that was the cause of the Kryptonite still lingering in the room, a dented piece of metal which she had assumed had been one of Lena’s inventions, and blood.

But what had been the worst thing, were the fingerprints left behind by none other than Lex Luthor.

She had been inconsolable for a short time, only brought back to the real world by Kelly reminding her Brainy needed them, and that she had to be calm to think rationally if they were going to find Kara and Lena.

J’onn had offered to look for them, along with M’gann and Nia, stating that though Kelly and Alex were smart and capable, they wouldn’t be as efficient as them with their powers.

So Alex had stayed here at the tower with Kelly, monitoring Brainy and getting hourly updates from Nia (who also wanted hourly updates on Brainy.)

There was nothing to do but wait, and the anxiety of not knowing was eating her up inside.

Kelly walked over to her, laying a hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, love.”

Alex sniffles and raises her head to Kelly.

“Hey.”

  
  


Kelly rests her hand on Alex’s shoulder, a sympathetic frown on her face.

  
  


“You know she’ll be okay Alex, her and Lena. Your sister is the most persistent person I know and she won’t go down without a fight. And it’s as if Lena would ever let anything happen to her.”

Alex only glares at her. 

“Lena tried to kill my sister. She lied to and betrayed her for months, so I’m sorry if I’m not particularly reassured at her being somewhere with her, especially if it has anything to do with Lex. She’s betrayed us so much, and I know she really helped us yesterday, but who’s to say that wasn’t a ruse to get to Kara.”

Kelly only sighs and sits beside her.

“I know,” she says, taking Alex’s hand, “I know she’s done some really bad things, but she wasn’t faking that Alex. I read people for a living honey, I know when someone is lying. She cares about your sister.”

Alex shakes her head and leans on Kelly’s shoulder. “Well she sure has a funny way of showing it.”

A groan brings their attention to the other side of the room where an unconscious Brainy lays, hooked to monitors and equipment Alex had transferred from the DEO (when it was still standing) to the tower. (Hey, if Lex could authorize shady transfers, so could she.) 

“Brainy!” She jumps up and runs to his side.

Brainy opens his eyes, blinking slow and hard, his gaze focuses on her.

“Alex- Danvers.” He says with uncertainty.

Alex moves closer to the bed.

“Yes Brainy, it’s Alex.”

He looks at her for a moment, a haze fogging up his ability to think clearly.

“If you are here that would mean I have failed my mission to trap Leviathan, and you are dead as well.” He turns his head to look around the room, “This must be the afterlife people have talked about.”

Alex laughs dryly, “No Brainy, I’m alive, you’re alive. Everyone is alive because of you, you stopped Leviathan.”

Brainy seems to process the information for a moment.

“I remember pain, and Lex Luthor, he took the bottle I had trapped the earth benders in. He left me there to die, I don’t understand how you found me, no one knew of my plan-.”

“Nia,” Alex interjects,”she had a vision, she saw you at the ship, hurt, and we came to get you. It wasn’t easy to get through the radiation shield, we had J’onn get you since he was the fastest and could beam you both out of the room quicker.”

Brainy seems to nod his head, “I’m sorry, I don’t remember that. Where are J’onn and Nia now?”

Alex lets out a small laugh, bringing her hand up to rest on Brainy’s shoulder.

“Dude, you were unconscious I don’t expect you to remember. But uh, J’onn and Nia, M’gann too, they’re looking for Lex.” Alex turns to her girlfriend, “Actually, Kelly, we should call Nia. She’ll be very upset if we don’t let her know about Brainy.”

Kelly nods, moving away from the end of the medical bed, moving to grab the phone from her purse.

Alex turns back to Brainy.

“Um, there is something you should know, Lena and Kara, they were taken.”

Terror flashes across Brainy’s face, “What do you mean? Who has taken them?”

“Lex Luthor. He got them last night, we got back to Lena’s lab and they were gone. There were traces of Kryptonite and signs of a struggle. Kelly and I have been here taking care of you, but J’onn, M’gann, and Nia have been trying to track him down. He’s just- untraceable, we can’t find any evidence as to where he is hiding.”

  
  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_ Last Night _

“It’s Brainy. He stopped Leviathan. He saved us, he needs my help.”

Alex looks at Nia lying on the concrete, a vision just sent to her.

She moves to pull her up, crouching down beside her.

“Nia where is he, what happened?”

Nia shakes her head, eyes closed.

“I’ve never seen the place before, if I didn’t know any better I’d say it was a casino.”

Alex jumped up, startling Nia at her sudden movement.

“I know where he is, he’s at the Leviathan headquarters, their ship, we need to go now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lena and Kara smiled at each other, dropping their joined hands as a phone began to ring. Lena approached her desk, her brother’s name flashing across the caller ID. She raises the phone to her ear.

“What the hell do you want.”

Through the phone Lex laughs.

_ “I just wanted to call and say congratulations on defeating Leviathan, but I suppose those congratulations are no longer in order.” _

Lena growls into the phone, pacing across the lab.

“What the hell are you talking about? We stopped them, they are gone.”

_ “You, sister, did nothing, not even that ragtag team of aliens you’ve aligned yourself with once again stopped them. No, I have them here, in a bottle, ready to be opened and unleashed once again.” _

“You’re telling me you stopped Leviathan, by putting them in a bottle?”

_ “Not me, but, that’s besides the point. I’m saying, unless you want all hell to break lose tenfold on humanity, meet me at the place you killed me.” _

“And why’s that? Like to return the favor?”

_ “Hmm, tempting, dear sister, but no. Use your watch and be here, alone.” _

Before she could react, the call disconnected. Kara walked to her side, a questioning look on her face. 

“It was my brother, he wants me to meet him where I killed him last year. He wants me to go alone.”

Kara scoffed, shaking her head as she looked Lena in the eye.

“Yeah, as if that’s an option. You know I am going with you.”

“Kara-” Lena begins to protest.

“No Lena, don’t try to argue with me. Your brother is a madman, I am not letting you walk into something alone.”

Lena sighed and looked at Kara, the look on her face leaving no room for debate. She nodded her head.

“Okay fine, but I don’t like this Kara, my brother isn’t one to call for an impromptu family meeting.”

“Yeah no kidding, that’s why you have me for backup. And I’m calling Alex and the others too, so they can provide backup if we need it.”

Kara pulled her phone from her boot, hitting Alex’s contact. The line rang and then she waited.

_ “Supergirl? I have an emergency, can this wait?” _

“What, what’s wrong?”

_ “It’s Brainy, he’s hurt.” _

“What, Alex what happened?”

_ “It’s a long story Kara and I don’t have time, just-” _

Alex’s words are cut off by an ear piercing screech. Kara hears it over the phone and drops the phone to the ground, cradling her ear where it is still ringing. 

Lena rushes over to her and picks up the phone, seeing the call disconnected.

“What happened?” She asks, concerned by Kara’s reaction and abrupt dropping of her phone.

“Something happened with Brainy, she said she can’t talk, and then there was this horrible noise, Rao that hurt my ears.”

Lena moved her hand to rest on Kara’s shoulder, but was interrupted by the flash of pink that opened up around them.

The portal stood open, and then a small canister flew through it, settling on the floor just at the women's feet.

Before either of them could react, a green cloud erupted from the canister and Kara fell, taking Lena with her.

“Kara!” Lena yelled, looking at her friend who was now struggling to breathe.

Through the portal stepped Lex Luthor, his lips stretched in a straight line.

“Lena, you’re late. Figured I’d come see what the problem was.”

He steps closer to them, and Lena raises her arms, placing them on Kara’s back, hovering above her.

“Get away from her.” She says, hand moving to toss away the canister that was still spewing green.

  
  


Lex only laughs, and as Lena turns away to check Kara, he picks up one of the prototypes she has been working on, which unfortunately for her was large and made of metal. With a swing of his hand, Lena falls to the ground in front of Kara.

Kara gasps, seeing Lena crumple before her, desperate for clean air in her lungs so she can fight back, protect them.

But it never comes, her cells still burning with the Kryptonite. Instead, she receives a painful blow to the back of the head, like Lena. From where she was kneeling on all fours, she collapses face first into the cold floor of Lena’s lab. 

“Even with the Kryptonite weakening you, you are still conscious. You certainly do have that journalistic persistence Ms. Danvers.”

He swings the object again, and Kara closes her eyes, letting the pain take over her body. Unfortunately for her, it takes another two blows before she is out, her last thought of her desperate cells yearning for the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be about Lena and her return to the apartment. We'll get some development between our girls.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW/CW: Mentions of self harm, blood, violence, and body image issues

Lena sat stiffly in the leather backed chair, glancing around what once was her childhood bedroom. (When she wasn’t away at boarding school, that is.) In front of her, Lex paced nervously.

“I have to admit, sister, when I had planned this out I didn’t account for how hard it would actually be to follow through once you were in front of me.”

She turns her head to her brother, eyes narrowing, she scoffs.

“And what had you planned, exactly?”

Lex stops his pacing to look at her, he stares into her eyes and Lena feels a sense of unease.

“To kill you.”

The nonchalant way he had said it, as if it were the most obvious answer in the world cut through her very being.

“After you had aligned yourself with Kara Danvers and those mutts I realized there would be no talking sense to you. You had strayed too far into the light.” Lex chuckles humorlessly, “Oh, little Lena, it’s really quite ironic isn't it? The girl who surrounds herself with light, is really the darkest of them all. I suppose your mother had known what she was doing when she gave you a second name of Keiran.” He hums, “Little dark one, I would actually disagree with that, if not for all the things that happened within these walls. Say, do you still have those horrid scars?”

Lena shifts in her chair, uncomfortable with the subject in which Lex is broaching.

“Shut up, Lex.”

He merely laughs, pleased with himself for finding a crack in Lena’s normally stoic facade. But then, Lex had always been good at finding what could hurt her the most.

“Do you remember, when mother had found you, blood dripping down your stomach, your legs, you were smart not to maim your arms, I'll give you that. If only you had used some of that sense to lock your door.”

Lena feels the awful tightness begin to swell in her throat, her eyes beginning to fill with unshed tears.

“Please, stop.” Her plea is quiet, and falls on deaf ears as Lex continues.

“I’m not sure I had ever seen mother so angry with you. Any other parent would have gone into shock, tried to comfort you, maybe even cried. But not our mother. Tell me Lena, what was worse? The beating you received, or the bruises that couldn’t let you move without wincing for a week?”

A single tear drops down Lena’s face, her resolve slowly crumbling.

“That’s in the past Lex. I’m not that scared little girl, desperate for her family’s approval, desperate for someone to love her. Always afraid to care too deeply for something, fearful you or mother would come along and destroy it.”

Lex clacks his teeth together, turns to her and sucks in a breath. The smallest of smiles plays on his face.

“It’s true Lena, you’re not afraid to love anymore, which is why this is going to be so easy.”

Lena gets out of her chair, only stopping from moving forward when Lex pulls a gun from his jacket. He points it at her and she returns to her seat, hands in the air. 

“I swear to god Lex, if you hurt anyone I will rip that gun out of your hand and kill you,  _ again _ .”

Lex lowers the gun, not depositing it back into his coat though, instead he keeps it in his hand, a warning.

“Not anyone, because you don’t care about just  _ anyone _ . You care about Supergirl, or,  _ excuse me _ , Kara Danvers.”

Lena refrains from jumping out of her seat again, the tears threatening to escape earlier now gone, and replaced with steely anger. She remains silent, unsure of what to say to him after he threatened Kara.

“Not so bold now are you. I had thought of ways to hurt you, make you suffer the same way I did when you killed me for that awful Kryptonian, but nothing ever seemed sufficient. But one day it came to me. I could beat you until you were bloody and delirious, hang you up and rip your skin off, let you succumb to the slow death of hypothermia, I even thought about dropping you off in the middle of the ocean, let you die the same way as your mother. But, absolutely nothing compared to the pain you would suffer watching your best friend die at the hands of your brother.”

Lex doesn’t even try to hide his giddiness, the smile that had broken out onto his face maniacal, evil. 

Lena feels like she could be sick. She doesn’t believe that the man standing in front of her is the same boy that had protected her when she first came to the mansion all those years ago. Blinded by his hunger for power and revenge, her brother is unrecognizable.

“Please Lex, don’t hurt her. I-I’ll do anything, you can do whatever you want to me, put a bullet hole through me right now, but just don’t hurt her.”

She’s desperate, she knows Lex won’t think twice about hurting, or killing, Kara. She’s hurt her so much this past year, and to know that Lex has them trapped here, and he has Kryptonite, she could die by the hands of her brother. Lena doesn’t think she could survive that guilt.

Suddenly Lex is letting out a scream, tossing her old desk which he had been standing beside over. Lena is fearful now, that desk is made of heavy oak.

“ _ God damn it _ , Lena.” He snarls, a wild look in his eyes, “I didn’t want to believe it, I detested it, I was convinced mother was imagining things. But the look of desperation on your face, god I can’t even look at you, you are so vile.”

Lena feels small watching her brothers outburst, suddenly feeling like a scared teen again.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She croaks out, barely a whisper.

Lex is across the room and in her face before she has time to react. She can feel his breath on her face. She can feel the heat radiating from his body, as if his anger is seeping out of him.

“You love her,” He accuses, “You love Kara Danvers, you’re  _ in _ love with her.”

Lena is shocked, not sure what to say. Her deepest secret, although just recently uncovered by her, was now pulled from her tiny box at the very back of her mind and shoved in her face. She stutters intelligibly for a few seconds, not sure rather to deny his claims or accept what he already knows. She chooses the former.

“I don’t know what you-”

She doesn’t even get the rest of her sentence out, the sharp slap across her cheek stopping her from continuing.

“You  _ dare _ have the audacity to sit there and  _ lie _ to me!” Lex roars, tiny drops of spit flying from his mouth and unto her face.

Lena begins to cry, unable to stop the tears now. Rather because of the anger being directed at her or the dull pain in her cheek, she is unsure.

Lex looks at her for a moment before baring his teeth, swinging again, this time his fist collides with her temple, the force of it nearly sending her over the arm rests of the chair.

“I was wrong, I didn’t think I had it in me to hurt you. Not my Lena, my Anastasia, not my  _ sister _ .” Lex grabs her by her throat, forcing her eyes on his, “But you, you  _ love _ the most  _ vile _ thing on this earth.  _ Killed me _ , to protect her. You are  _ nothing _ to me anymore, you are as lowly as her.”

His rage is expelled through numerous blows to her body, and when she tries to shield herself it only seems to anger him more. One of the hits is so devastating she falls from the chair, only to be kicked once she hits the floor. 

She is helpless. No one is going to save her, not Kara, not the DEO, no one. If one were to track them to the Luthor Mansion they would never find it anyway, not with the security protocols Lex had in place.

So she lies there, defenseless on the floor of her old bedroom. Her body absorbing every blow from her brother's angry fists. The only thing she can do now is wait for his rage to simmer out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s day two of being held captive by Lex, and Kara is no closer to finding a way out of this hellhole. 

She had gone over every area of the apartment, unable to find any means of escape. Cameras were placed in the two main rooms, but upon inspection there were none in the bedroom, bathroom or closet.

_ “How considerate.” _ She thought sarcastically.

She had fought sleep the first night, sitting on the couch in the living room, watching the door and waiting for Lena’s return. The clock on the wall kept ticking, and she waited, watching the hours go by until finally she began to worry Lena was not coming back.

A panic set off in her chest, and she began to feel her eyes well with tears. She was so worried about Lena, desperate to have her here even if it meant they were both back in this prison.

She sobbed, letting the gravity of their situation catch up to her. Once she was sure she could cry no more, she felt the weight of exhaustion creep up on her. Leaning against the couch, she felt her eyes droop.

“ _ No, _ ” she told herself, “ _ I have to stay awake for Lena. _ ”

She managed to repeat that mantra to herself for another twenty minutes before another more selfish one crept into her mind.

“ _ You can’t help Lena if you are too exhausted to fight. _ ”

And soon Kara realized, she really couldn't argue with that.

“Just a few minutes.” She mumbled, her eyes slipping closed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She awoke several hours later to the sound of footsteps.

Shooting up from where she was slumped on the couch, she spotted Lena, slowly limping away from the door. How she managed to miss the door opening, but hear the soft sounds of Lena’s footsteps, is beyond her.

All sleepiness is suddenly gone, and she rushes to Lena’s side, startling her.

The first thing she notices are the bruises and cuts on her face. Her blood becomes hot, and she can feel her heat vision beginning to flare. A growl escapes her throat.

Lena whimpers and moves away from her, and Kara instantly regrets her poorly concealed anger.

She approaches Lena again, this time with her hands in front of her and her voice gentle.

“Lena, it’s okay, It’s just me. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll never hurt you.”

Lena glances at her and,  _ oh Rao _ , her face looks even worse up close. She swears she can feel her heart crack at just how helpless she looks.

But then Lena bursts into tears.

Kara barely has a second to think before she is pulling Lena into her arms, regretting doing so as soon as Lena cries out in pain. She drops her arms immediately and instead brings her hand up to rest on Lena’s arm, gently, barely ghosting the fabric of the pajamas.

“Lena, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, or hurt you. Can I help you clean up and see if anything is broken?”

Lena only nods and Kara guides her to the bedroom, and then to the bathroom. She puts the toilet seat down and Lena sits on it. Unsure if Lena can move much by herself she stops before starting the shower.

“Do you want to shower?”

Lena shakes her head. “Can’t,” she croaks, “hurts.”

Kara nods, moving beside Lena again.

“Do you want to take a bath then? I can, um- I can help you if you want.”

Kara tries not to feel weird for offering, but her and Lena have never had the kind of friendship where they had seen each other naked before, even before their falling out. And even though it’s not sexual Kara can’t help but worry she would be making Lena uncomfortable.

Lena doesn’t seem to think much about it though before nodding her head slightly.

“Okay- okay, uh, i'm just going to start a bath and then get you some clothes, okay?” 

Kara waits for Lena’s affirmation before going back to the shower and plugging the drain. The water begins to fill up the tub, and she turns to open the door of the walk-in closet.

She quickly grabs Lena a pair of underwear, a soft looking t-shirt, and a pair of sweats.

When she enters the bathroom Lena is raising her hands, trying to unbutton the front of her nightshirt. 

“Here,” Kara says, kneeling in front of her, “Let me help you.”

Lena drops her hands and lets Kara undo the shirt, she then lets her pull off her pants. She wraps her arms around herself, feeling self conscious being this exposed in front of Kara. She was always aware of her body, and she was ashamed of the scars that littered her soft belly and thighs. She preferred to keep those areas covered from everyone, if not for the scars, for the soft parts that, no matter how many diets and hours at the gym, seemed to never tone up.

Kara glances at her body and desperately tries to fight the tears threatening to break free from her eyes. Lena has bruises everywhere. She lowers her glasses and does an x-ray scan, no broken bones. Kara can’t help it anymore, and a few tears slip free.

“I’m sorry,” she begins, wiping her eyes, “it’s just, nothing’s broken, and I’m so relieved.”

Lena merely nods, eyes downcast.

By now, the bath is more than full enough, so Kara extends her hand to Lena, helping her from her seat on the toilet. When Lena drops her hands, Kara notices thick, angry scars along her belly and tops of her thighs. There has to be at least 200 she thinks, blinking back even more tears. She had never known Lena had cut herself, but she can’t find it in herself to be surprised given how she had been treated growing up.

“ _ You can’t cry, _ ” she thinks, “ _ Lena needs you right now. _ ”

So instead she steps behind Lena and raises her hands to the clasp of her bra. 

“Can I take this off?” She asks softly, and she sees the back of Lena’s head nod affirmatively. She unclasps it and Lena lets it fall off her shoulders, over her arms. Lena moves to push down her own underwear, and gently shakes them off her ankles.

Part of her feels vulnerable, being this exposed to Kara, but another part knows that Kara would never judge her. Kara only ever wants to help her.

She takes Kara’s hand and steps into the water, sitting down and bringing her knees to her chest, feeling pain as she does, but ignoring it in favor of keeping herself covered as much as possible.

Kara sits on the side of the tub.

“Can I wash your hair?” She asks hesitantly.

Lena simply nods again.

Kara grabs a bottle of shampoo and begins to work on Lena’s hair. One part of her wants to take her time, take care of her, but another says to get it done as fast as possible so Lena can be comfortable.

After she is finished with her hair, she washes Lena’s face, being as gentle as she can with the bruises and cuts there. She makes a move to pick up the body wash but is stopped by Lena.

“I think I’m fine now,” she says softly, “the soap in the water cleaned the rest of me.”

Kara opens her mouth to protest but nods, instead standing to get Lena a towel. 

She helps Lena stand, grimacing as she winces, and wraps the towel around her shoulders. She returns her to the toilet, and looks in the medical cabinet to find some kind of antiseptic and bandages to put on her cuts. Once she found them, she set them on top of the counter.

“I’m going to put some antiseptic and bandages on the cuts on your face, okay?”

She wants to reassure Lena about everything she is doing, not wanting to frighten her.

She dresses the cuts gently, not wanting to hurt Lena more than she already is. Once she is satisfied with her work, she helps Lena dress, which Lena is grateful for, happy to hide behind the safety of the fabric. She dries Lena’s hair some before brushing it and working it into a loose bun on top of her head. When she is finished, she leads her to the bedroom.

“Lay down,” Kara instructs, depositing her on the bed, “I’m going to go and wait in the living room to make sure Lex doesn’t come back.”

Before she can turn around Lena’s hand grabs her wrist. 

“Kara, don’t leave me, please. Please stay here.”

The thought of not having Kara in her direct line of vision is worrisome for her. She can’t protect her against Lex if she can’t see her. Not like she could do much anyway, with the way her body aches. All the same, she would feel better if Kara were by her side.

Kara sits beside her on the bed, bringing a hand to ghost across her cheek.

“I won’t, don't worry, I’m right here.”

Lena’s body betrays her at Kara’s soft words, spoken with so much care, and she begins to sob again.

Kara lays down beside her and grips her hand, moving toward her to create as little space as possible without actually touching Lena.

“I’m right here. I’m right here, Lena.” She squeezes her hand, and then dares to gently move her other arm to rest across Lena’s shoulders, pulling her slightly closer. Lena instantly leans into the comfort and Kara strokes her hair.

She feels a deep sense of relief, her and Kara haven’t shared this much closeness since before their falling out. Unknown to her, Kara is feeling the same. Though the moment is tainted with the reality of where they are and what has led to this.

“It’s okay sweetie, I’ve got you.” 

Kara continues her soft reassurances. She knows she will have to tell Lena what she has found so far in the apartment, and she has some of her own questions for Lena, but right now she just wants to make sure Lena is okay and let her rest.


	4. Chapter 4

It was late when Nia and the martians returned, all three of them eager to see Brainy, but without any leads on Kara and Lena’s disappearance.

Nia had been overjoyed to see Brainy awake and well. Though he was still a bit weak and sore, he had passed Alex’s health check well enough for her to let him assist in the search for their friends.

They found themselves standing around where Brainy was sitting in an office chair, Nia crouched beside him and gripping his hand tightly, going over the information they had so far. They didn’t have much to go on, and were hitting a lot of dead ends, tension running high. So it really wasn’t too much of a surprise when one of them snapped.

“Why can’t we take this to the police? I understand that this is a special situation, but have you considered they might be able to help us.” Brainy said.

“We are not going to the police, okay? It’s too risky, Lex could have them in the palm of his hand for all we know. And have you forgotten, Kara is Supergirl, it could risk her identity.” Alex replied, not willing to entertain Brainy’s idea.

“Yes, of course, but-”

“Brainy! Just stop, it’s too risky. We’re trained to deal with Kara and her secret, to make sure it doesn’t get out.  _ We _ are the organization who tracks down the missing aliens, I know what I am doing.”

“I know that Kara is your sister, and you want to protect her secret, but what about Lena? She is a human, and for that reason I believe we should explore every option and line of help to ensure her return to safety as well. Agent Danvers, I understand that Kara is your sister, your best friend, but Lena is mine. And I won’t let an opportunity pass to find her.”

Everyone was silent, watching Alex and waiting for her reply. She seemed to process his outburst, watching him with a careful eye. She looked to Kelly, who gave her a small smile and nod. She sighs, resigned to accept Brainy’s proposal.

“Let me make a call.” Brainy smiled and nodded, happy he had gotten through to the sometimes stubborn agent, “But I’m warning you, if I get a bad feeling, it’s off, and we will work by ourselves.”

She gave a pointed look to the other five members of the team and walked away, pulling out her cellphone.

“Hi, I was wondering if I could speak with Maggie Sawyer?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The phone call to the NCPD had gone better than Alex anticipated. Maggie had been extremely helpful, telling her she would put out a missing person’s report for both Lena and Kara. She asked her if she had any ideas on their whereabouts, to which Alex had told her Lex. Miraculously, Maggie hadn’t been affected by bullshit-blinding when they had switched earths, and knew Lex for what he was. Alex was also right, Lex had the majority of the NCPD eating out of his hand.

Maggie had told her she’d try to help her as much as possible, while keeping things under wraps. Alex hadn’t been hopeful about her ability to find anything, not because Maggie was bad at her job, but because Lex was a master at hiding. That’s why the phone call she received not twenty minutes later had surprised her.

_ “Oh, thank god, I wasn’t sure if you ever changed your personal number.” _

“Maggie? Why are you calling me from your personal phone?”

_ “You expect me to use one from the office? Luthor probably has them bugged.” _

The idea wasn’t too far fetched, so Alex only hummed her reply.

_ “Look, I found something. You said to look for any strange activity that has happened throughout the city, and while I’m sure this isn’t what you had in mind, it’s the only thing I could find.” _

“What is it?”

_ “A patient admitted to the Luthor Medical Hospital, psychiatric ward to be specific. No name, says she was picked up alongside the road, and she doesn’t remember anything.” _

“What? Maggie is it-”

_ “I’m not finished Danvers, please hold your questions until the end.” _

Alex grumbled into the phone.

_ “In her patient file, there’s a picture, and I could be wrong but it looks like Lena’s mother.” _

“Lillian Luthor? Why would she be in a mental hospital, without an identity no less.”

_ “That’s what I’m on my way to find out.” _

“You’re going there? Now?”

Maggie hummed into the phone.

“Well I'm coming with you. I’m twenty minutes out, don’t go in until I get there.”

Maggie doesn’t get a chance to reply, Alex is already pocketing her phone and moving to grab her coat and badge.

“Where are you going?” Kelly asks as Alex kisses her cheek.

“To Luthor Medical Hospital. Maggie thinks she's found something.”

“That’s amazing, but should you be going alone? What if something happens?”

“She’s going too, she’s on her way now, so I really need to go.”

She turns to the rest of the team, “Brainy, keep scanning for Kryptonite signatures or Kara’s powers. Nia, try to sleep, maybe you can dream something that’ll help us.”

“J’onn and I are going to go back to patrolling the earth, see if we can pick something up.” M’Gann replies, standing from her seat.

“Great, thank you guys so much.”

Alex kisses Kelly one more time, “You, just stay safe. I love you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The alarm clock on the nightstand told Kara it was seven in the morning when Lena woke. Having not slept herself, she had been surprised at how alert she was, sensing as soon as Lena’s breathing changed.

“Hey.” She said softly from her place beside Lena, a hand still resting on her hip.

“Hey.” Lena returned, blinking at her tiredly.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I got the shit kicked out of me by my brother.”

Kara winces, “Sorry, bad question.”

Lena hums before sitting up on the bed, Kara pulling her hand away from where it had made a home on Lena’s skin for the night.

“It’s fine, no use tiptoeing around what happened. Did you find anything that would help us get out of this deathtrap?”

Kara moves to sit up now, moving to lean against the headboard beside Lena.

“I found a lot actually, but it’s nothing good. Just different features your brother installed to keep me from breaking out of here.”

“And what are they exactly?”

“Do you remember how when we grabbed the door we got shocked, or in my case exposed to Kryptonite?” Lena nods, “Well, turns out the windows are outfitted with the same thing, and they, as well as every wall in this apartment are made out of lead. I can’t see out.”

Lena stares at her for a second, then sighs. Bringing a hand up to push at the stray hairs that had fallen out of the now haphazard looking bun, she looks into the distance.

“It’s not an apartment, not really. He built this, inside the mansion. That’s where we are right now. Last night, he took me to my old bedroom.”

“What? Why would he bring us here, it’s such an easy target. Alex will look here first.”

Lena turns back to her now, a sad look on her face.

“The mansion, it’s hidden, and not in the woods or down a beaten path or anything like that. I mean it is seriously invisible. There’s a force field Lex invented surrounding the place, it’s not visible on any maps.”

Kara takes a moment to process the information, mouth open slightly. 

“So you’re saying, unless they knew what they were looking for they’re not going to find us?”

Lena only nods, and Kara feels panic starting to blossom in her chest.

“How are we gonna get out of here? How-how are we gonna get out of here, Lena. I have to get  _ you _ out of here, and I can’t. I have all of my-my powers but it doesn’t matter. He’s just trying to taunt me.”

Lena reaches out to Kara and lays her hand on hers, effectively stopping her panicked rambling. 

“Kara, breathe. We also will not get out of here if you panic and lose it on me, alright?”

Kara nods, bringing a hand to wipe across her face, exhaling deeply.

“Okay, we need a plan. Whenever he comes back, you need to incapacitate him somehow.”

“Me?” Lena asks, shocked.

“I can’t do it. He will turn on the Kryptonite lamps.”

“And I can barely raise my arms, so your point is void.”

Kara looks at her and raises an eyebrow.

“You’d rather stay here and give him a chance to do even more damage?”

Lena looks angry now, and she opens her mouth to say something, but Kara is already getting off the bed and leaving the room. Lena follows her, wincing at the pain in her ribs. They might not be broken but they are extremely painful.

She finds Kara rummaging around in the kitchen. 

“What are you doing?”

Kara glances at her from where she is intently studying a bottle of water.

“I’m checking for any signs the food has been tampered with. My first thought was to not risk it, but you haven’t eaten for two days and you’re already looking paler than usual.”

She walks to a cupboard and opens it, pulling out a clear glass. Lena watches as she pours the water into it, and then lifts it to her face. She smells the water, and then seemingly satisfied, takes a sip. She hands the glass to Lena who is looking at her strangely.

“What was that?”

“I was making sure the water wasn’t contaminated.”

“I don’t think you can smell whether water has been poisoned or not, Kara.”

Kara glares at her, “Well it can’t hurt to be careful, Lena. Your brother is a madman.”

“Now that’s just rude.”

Kara and Lena both visibly jump, the glass tumbling from Lena’s hand and crashing to the countertop.

Lex enters the apartment, closing the door behind him.

“You really must be careful with your words, there are cameras everywhere. As a reporter and someone hounded by the reporters I surely thought you would remember that.”

Kara is around the island fast, standing in front of Lena.

“I’d hate to interrupt what looks like breakfast, but I wanted to start early today. Lena, you can make this difficult or go willingly.”

“No.” Kara steps closer to Lena now, feeling her knees press into her back, her arms raising a little from her sides to shield more of Lena.

“A nice sentiment Ms. Danvers, but you seem to forget I’m in control.”

“Take me instead, Lena’s already been with you. We both know you want to hurt me, not her.”

Lex laughs, his head falling back a little.

“No, no no. I want to hurt the  _ both _ of you. My traitor sister and her Kryptonian bitch.”

“Hey,” Lena begins to protest, but is quickly silenced by Kara.

“Then take me. I’ll do anything, just leave her alone.”

Lex smirks. “Ah, Supergirl, always eager to play the hero. I can’t take you even if I wanted to, I didn’t bring the necessary equipment to-  _ contain _ you.”

“I’ll go willingly.”

Lex only laughs again, this time seeming truely amused.

“I’m serious. You can do whatever you want, just don’t hurt Lena.”

Lex seems to consider it for a second before standing straighter and clasping his hands together in front of him.

“Very well, but when you’re begging for mercy, remember it was your foolish words that landed you in this position.”

Kara only nods, moving away from Lena. Lena will have none of it though, her hand immediately grabbing for Kara’s wrist.

“Kara, you can’t go.” Lena feels panicked at the thought of Kara being alone with that maniac. Surely Lex wouldn’t hesitate to put a Kryptonite bullet through her skull, and that thought terrifies her.

“Lena it’s fine, let go.”

_ “No!” _ Lena cries more earnestly, rising from her chair to grab ahold of Kara, her arms locking around her neck, holding her close.

“Lena, stop. _ Stop _ , Lena,  _ Lena! _ ” Kara tries to pry her off as gently as possible, not wanting to injure her further. When she still doesn’t budge, Kara pulls harder at her arms, and finally Lena stumbles back, hitting the chair and falling to the ground.

Kara desperately wants to pick her up and make sure she’s okay, but she needs to move before Lena continues her assault.

“It’s going to be okay, Lena. I’ll be back, I promise.” 

And then Kara is turning, walking toward Lex.

“Hefty promise, Supergirl. You do remember being lied to is my sister's achilles heel?”

Kara ignores him, continuing her walk toward the door. Lena’s voice rings out one more time.

“How do you know she won’t try to get away?”

Lex eyes Kara, who mumbled a promise she wouldn’t, before turning to Lena.

“Because of you.”

And then he is opening the door and pushing Kara out of it, the door swinging shut with a click.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex arrives at the Luthor Medical Hospital shortly after leaving the tower. She spots Maggie sitting on a bench near the entrance. Dismounting her bike, she approaches her. Maggie glances up and gives her a small smile when she recognizes her.

“Hey, Danvers. Right on time.”

Alex gave her a half smile, watching her stand from the bench.

“I couldn’t wait any longer. I just want to find my sister.”

Alex turns to enter the hospital, the automatic doors swooshing open.

Maggie is right behind her, approaching the front desk.

A nurse notices them and goes to hand them a form to fill out, but Maggie is already showing her badge. The nurse’s eyes widen in surprise and she retracts the form.

“How can I help you, officer.” 

“I need to see your Jane Doe in the psychiatric wing.”

The nurse only looks at her before holding a finger up, and then reaching for the phone. She pages a doctor and tells them to wait a moment. 

Knowing how long it can take at a hospital, Alex slumps against the tall desk, waiting. To her surprise a doctor approaches them not a minute later.

He’s old, gray hair thinning, thick glasses perched on his nose. She already doesn’t like the vibe the man is giving off.

“Hello,” he greets, extending his hand, “Dr. Smith. I hear you have questions about our Jane Doe.”

Maggie reaches out to shake his hand. “Yeah, we actually need to speak with her.”

He gives them a tense smile, “Sorry, ladies, I’m afraid you can’t do that.” 

He doesn’t elaborate, and Alex doesn’t take nicely to people telling her no, especially when it involves the safety of her sister.

Maggie is pulling her jacket open, and she pulls out a piece of paper. She holds it to the doctors face, a smug look on her face.

“I’m gonna need you to reconsider that, doctor. I’ve got a warrant.”

The doctor looks genuinely surprised, and he hesitates for a few moments like he is going to fight them on it, but he doesn’t. He simply turns around and starts walking, motioning for them to follow.

They’re led through a heavy door with warnings to leave all weapons and anything posing a threat to the patients safety outside. A burly security guard takes their guns, scans them with a wand, and then gives them the all clear. They stop outside of a door, the doctor opening it and stepping inside with them.

“I’m sorry, but you can’t be present for this. I have the official statement on the warrant if you’d like to see.”

The man simply smiles at her, a sarcastic look to it, and leaves slamming the door. 

The noise startles the figure who had been lying on the bed, the woman jumping up, frantic eyes darting around the room.

They land on Alex and Maggie, and then she is getting out of the bed.

“Agent Danvers.” She says, uncertainty coloring her voice.

“Lillian Luthor.” The woman nods, a bright smile breaking out across her face. 

She moves to Alex and grabs her by the shoulders, shaking her gleefully.

“Yes! Yes, you know who I am! God, you need to help me. These-these people they all work for Lex, he’s paying them to keep me in here.”

Alex reaches up and removes Lillian's hands from her shoulders, watching them drop back to her sides.

“Why are they pretending you are an unidentified person? Why not just make up a story about how you went off the deep end.”

Lillian shakes her head, for a second she looks like she is going to touch Alex again but thinks better of it. 

“He doesn’t want anyone to know where I am. He’s doing this to punish me, for going against him.”

“What did you do?” Maggie chimes in, Alex having forgotten about her momentarily.

“I tried to kill him.”

Maggie's mouth falls open and she has to take a moment to compose herself.

“Why? Aren’t you two like the deadliest mommy and son team?”

Lillian glares at Alex.

“I’m not on his team, not anymore.” Lillian turns and walks back to her bed, sitting.

“At first he was true to the mission, eradicate all aliens. But then, I made a mistake. We were making a type of Kryptonite, weaponized in a pressurized canister so that with the pull of a pin, green smoke would bring any Kryptonian to their knees.”

Alex feels herself becoming angry at her admission to being the one who helped make the Kryptonite they had found in Lena’s lab. She tries to push that anger aside and continues listening to Lillian.

“I had mentioned my daughter's fondness for Supergirl, I told him he should have been grateful I pushed Lena to him and not her, because if she had gone to her they would have been inseparable this time. I knew her feelings would get in the way, my daughters never been subtle at hiding when she wants something, but that sister of yours is the embodiment of a dumb blonde.”

Alex, offended, opens her mouth to say something, but Lillian continues.

“No, I knew, that given a chance to repair what they had, Lena would have told her.”

Alex’s head is swirling. She had only had an inkling that Lena was attracted to Kara, and she had only found out that much right before they were kidnapped.

And, she was  _ gay _ for Christ’s sake. How did the woman who’s been actively trying to kill her sister and others like her for years, know more than she did?

Lillian clears her throat before continuing.

“This made Lex furious, I’ve never seen him that angry over anything. He started to plot what he was going to do to her for betraying him. I had told him to stop, he wasn’t going to hurt his sister, but he didn’t listen. So I did what I had to do to protect my daughter; kill my son.”

Alex and Maggie glance at each other, eyes wide.

“I’m assuming he found you out and had you sentenced here?”

Lillian nods. She claps her hands against her thighs and looks up at Alex.

“I really don’t care if you believe me, Agent Danvers, but I love my daughter. And seeing as you’re here I can only assume something terrible has happened to her.”

For a second Alex thinks the woman is going to cry, but she doesn’t, just stares at her expectantly.

“Lena is missing, so is Supergirl.”

This seems to get Lillian’s attention. 

“He’s taken Kara? That wasn’t a part of his plan.”

Alex scoffs, “Either he left something out, or you're telling me my sister was collateral damage, and for your sake you better hope it’s the former.”

Maggie puts a hand on her arm, preventing the agent from saying anything she might regret.

‘Look, we’re wondering if you know where he would have taken them. We’ve tried tracking for Kryptonite, Kara’s powers, and we come up with nothing. It’s like they’re not even on a map.”

“That’s because they aren’t.”

Lillian stands again, moving toward the two women.

“The Luthor Mansion, it’s not on a map, you couldn’t trace anything there because my son is paranoid and built a force field to surround it.”

Alex turns away, bringing a hand up to her face. 

“Fuck! I was there! When Reign was still at large, Lena sent me there for Sam’s daughter. Why didn’t I think of it.”

Maggie tries to lay a comforting hand on her shoulder but Alex shakes it off.

“Then you know how to get there. What you don’t know is the pin to release the force field.”

“Then give me the pin.” Alex replies, turning to face Lillian once again.

“It’s 40 digits long. You won't remember that. And you have no pen or paper.” Lillian states matter of factly.

“What are you saying?”

“Who has a 40 digit pin?!” 

Alex and Maggie look at each other after their simultaneous outburst. Alex mouths a  _ really _ at Maggie’s question, but she merely shrugs.

“Once again, my son has a horrible case of paranoia. And I’m proposing, Agent, that you take me with you.”

Alex laughs at this.

“Yeah, no way. This has been great, thanks for the location, but we’re wasting time. Let’s go, Maggie.”

They turn to leave, Maggie’s hand on the door, when Lillian speaks up.

“What use are you to your sister if you’re dead.”

She looks up and meets Maggie’s glance, watching as the cop drops her hand from the door handle.

“Is that a threat, Ms. Luthor?”

“No,” Lillian remarks, walking close to them again, “it’s a fact. If you don’t get the pin correct, or you spend time out there trying to decipher it, he will kill you.”

Alex shakes her head, not willing to relent to her proposition, but Maggie is already opening her mouth.

“Fine. But, you’re gonna need shoes.” She gestures to the non-slip socks on the woman’s feet.

Lillian smiles and comes to stand beside Maggie, she opens the door and gestures.

“Well, lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a lot of interaction between Kara and Lena, but next chapter is full of interaction between the two, and angst+drama.
> 
> Sorry not sorry XP


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW/CW: Violence, mentions of blood, mentions of self harm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New summary for the work, the story is taking me in a slightly different direction than what I had planned. I hope you will still enjoy it though!

It had been quite difficult to leave the hospital with Lillian Luthor, security had grabbed them as soon as they left the psychiatric wing. But, being the badass women they were, a few well targeted hits and the guards who had ambushed them were on the ground. Maggie had only smirked before grabbing their guns from the posted guards desk, leading their way out of the hospital and back to The Tower.

“Lovely place,” Lillian remarked upon entering the tower, glancing around.

“Hold it right there!” Nia yelled, arms raised, dream energy shifting idly in her palms.

“Calm down, Nia. She’s with us, she was trapped by Lex too.”

Nia scoffs, hands lowering, “A mental hospital? How fitting.”

Lillian tsks, offended, but Alex rolls her eyes and continues.

“Lillian is going to take us to the Luthor Mansion, that’s where she believes Lex is holding Lena and Kara.”

“You’re going to need back-up. Nia, M’gann and I will assist you.” J’onn announces, moving to the large computer monitor setup displaying a map.

“The more people you bring into this the higher chances of him catching you.” Lillian snips, arms crossing over her chest.

“If you think I’m sending them alone somewhere with you and your son, you’re out of your depths.” J’onn replies, spinning around to face the woman.

“Look,  _ Mister Martian Man _ , I just want to help my daughter-”

“As if you cared about her befo-”

“Stop it!” Alex yells, both of them turning to look at her, “I really don’t care if you trust her, I don’t trust her, but right now she’s our best bet at finding our girls. And- I agree with Ms. Luthor, the less people involved in this the better.”

“Are you out of your mind? If you do find Lex there, there’s no telling what he will do.” Nia quips.

“That’s my point. Maggie, Lillian and I are human, you lot are not. He has a vendetta against aliens, and there’s no way he doesn’t have traps and weapons at the place. I’m not risking anyone’s life.”

“Alex, you're risking  _ your  _ life.” Brainy pipes in.

“Maybe, but there’s only so many things that can kill me. J’onn, if he were to have some kind of power dampening or mind controlling technology, you guys would be as good as dead.”

Nia and the martians look at each other, seemingly having an unspoken conversation. Before they come to any conclusions though, Kelly is interrupting.

“I agree with Alex.” The aliens turn to her with surprise, thinking surely Kelly would be on their side, “There’s endless possibilities to what tortures a man like Lex Luthor created for your kind. I think it’s best you leave it to the humans this time. I trust her judgement, don’t you?”

There is a tense silence for a few moments before J’onn sighs, shoulders slumping slightly.

“Fine, but all of you are going to be wearing comms, and we will be in the general area waiting in case of emergency.”

Alex sighs, relieved at J’onn’s acceptance. 

“Deal, but we really have to go now. The drive alone is four hours.”

“But, we have powers, we can take you there so much quicker?” Nia says confused.

“None of you will be using your powers, I don’t want to risk him finding out you are nearby.” Alex says, her tone final.

“Now, Kelly and Brainy, I need you two to stay here in case we need anything prepped and to monitor everything in case anything changes.”

They both nod at the redhead, and she gives a small affirming nod back.

‘My team, we’ll take Maggie’s SUV. J’onn, take your team in one of the vans.”

“Yes, Agent Danvers.” J’onn responds, a small smile gracing his lips.

“Great, now let’s stop wasting time. I need my sister back.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kara will be honest, she had expected to be led to a bedroom, if Lena’s experience was anything to go by. That's why she was a bit surprised to be led through a wing completely separated from the rest of the normal amenities of the mansion.

There were big double wooden doors that led to the wing, and a long hallway that followed. At the end of the hallway, there was a metal door and long window. It reminded Kara of Lena’s lab. Sure enough…

“You should be honored as a journalist, Kara, to get an inside look at my personal lab.”

Kara said nothing, merely glanced at the man as he placed his hand on the lock outside the door. She recognized the type of security, biometric. Lena didn’t trust anything else when it came to protecting important things.

“A biometric lock. That’s how you can open the door to where you are keeping us.”

Lex pushes her inside, and in an instant, a green glow shines through the space. Kara falls to her knees, defenseless against the Kryptonite.

“Precisely, it’s a bit more advanced, I must admit, the technology is built directly into the door handle itself. Not to mention the added safety measures.”

Lex steps over her, leaving her to writhe against the floor in pain. He moves to a large metal table and carefully picks up a pair of handcuffs. Kara recognizes them, they look identical to the one’s the DEO had. He moves toward her and bends down to meet her gaze, smiling as he clicks the cuffs into place. 

He pulls her up by her throat, and normally Kara wouldn’t be affected by something like that, unless the opponent could match her in strength, but with the Kryptonite glowing from above and the added contact on her wrists, she coughs and needs to gasp for air.

“How does it feel to be helpless? You parade around thinking you’re above limitations, above pain. You think you’re a god. But not here; here, you will submit to me. Here, I am your god. And I get to decide whether you live or die.”

He continues to drag her, Kara helpless to follow along. At the back wall of the lab, there are chains, and Kara knows she has to fight back somehow. If she allows herself to be restrained, she won’t be able to break through, not without her powers.

She attempts to struggle against Lex’s hold on her throat, and to her luck, she surprises him and meets resistance. Quickly twisting herself out of the hold, she brings her cuffed wrists up with great effort, and swings at his face. Unfortunately for her, without her powers, her reflexes are slower, and he swings a heavy punch to the side of her head.

“ _ That _ was stupid.” He remarks, looking at her crumpled form on the ground.

Before she can move, he is wrapping his hand around her blonde locks, dragging her forcefully to the wall. She feels the pain in her scalp, and she is sure he’s ripped some of her hair out in his efforts.

He releases his grip on her hair, and she falls to the ground again. He picks up a heavy looking chain, and locks it onto her wrists, which feel exceptionally heavy now with the Kryptonite cuffs and the added weight of the chains.

She watches as he moves to a panel of buttons and switches, flipping one of them to the ceiling. A whirring begins to fill the lab, echoing through the space. The chain begins to grow taut, and Kara looks to the ceiling, a pulley lifting the chain. She begins to stand, the chain getting tighter now. Lex flips the switch again once she is just barely on the floor, her body stretched with her wrists uncomfortably above her head. Any further, and she is sure he would have pulled her shoulders out of socket.

“Thought you weren’t going to restrain me?” She asks defiantly.

“No, I simply trusted you enough to walk here. I’d be a fool to not hold you down somehow now that you’re here. Even if you’d subject yourself willingly, your fight or flight response would eventually kick in, and I really can’t go through the trouble of trying to restrain you then.”

“Well, I’m here, what do you want with me?”

Lex smiles, walking back to her once more.

“I hadn’t thought too much about what I’d do to you specifically, to be quite honest your being here was just an accident.”

Kara looks at him, her eyebrows coming together in confusion.

“You expect me to believe you didn’t want to kidnap me? The prison you’re keeping us in is outfitted with my weaknesses, and you filled a closet with clothes for me!”

Lex sighs, walking back to the table he had gotten the cuffs from, glancing over the various devices there.

“Your cozy home only has those for safety measures. Really they were meant to keep you out of the apartment if you had found Lena’s location. As for the personal effects, well you were out for a good amount of time, and I didn’t want you to feel left out, so I took the liberty of getting some things for you. You’re welcome.”

Kara snarls at him, but he simply smiles, walking over with a shiny and incredibly sharp looking scalpel.

“You weren’t meant to be here, but now that you are, I’d like to make the most of it.”

With a quick swipe, he brings the scalpel to glide across her exposed stomach. Kara cries out at the feeling, and Lex only laughs before moving his hand up to press against the wound. 

“You feel that? That’s pain, the kind of pain a human feels. I believe it should be a humbling experience for you, Ms. Danvers. Look at you, eyes pricked with tears, and that was barely a scrape. Although, I should stop the blood, couldn’t have you losing too much of it.”

He turns and walks briskly back to the metal table of horrors, picking up a long pole like object with a flat end. He flips it on and it glows an angry red. 

Kara begins struggling against her restraints, not able to move very far. Lex takes great delight in this, and approaches her quickly. Still squirming, he grabs her hip, and sticks the object right against her skin.

She can’t help the scream that tears from her throat at the feeling. The burning object is against her skin no longer than five seconds, but the lingering pain she feels afterwards is just as intense.

Lex sighs happily, the scent of Kara’s burnt skin lingering around them.

“Fascinating.” He muses.

Kara breathes heavily, fighting to ignore the pain on her stomach. 

“I was expecting a much more dramatic reaction. But, could I have your honest opinion? What do you think of my cartarization device? I proposed it to the medical industry, but they deemed it ‘cruel and inhumane’. I was flattered.”

“You’re demented.” Kara growls, bringing her eyes up to meet his.

“Again with the flattery Ms. Danvers, you really are too kind.”

He brings the scalpel back, slashes her again, this time over a longer expanse of her side. Before she can register the pain from the cut, he is reapplying the hot iron. She feels like she is going to pass out at the sight of her blood and burned flesh, and the smell, she is sure she is going to be sick.

“I thought Supergirl would be able to handle a few cuts,”  _ slash, burn _ , “It’s really disappointing how little pain tolerance you have,”  _ slash, burn _ , “but then again, you’ve had the luxury of never being exposed to pain, so I suppose it’s fitting.” He swipes the scalpel over her bicep, and,  _ oh fuck _ , Kara can feel that that was deep. This time, he doesn’t close up the wound, but lets it bleed. 

With a satisfied nod he walks back to his table of horrors and lays down his instruments before picking up a syringe with a telling green liquid inside.

“No,” she croaks as he approaches her, but he doesn’t pay her any mind.

“You’re just going to feel a little pinch.”

A raging inferno seeps into her bloodstream, she feels like her skin is melting from the bone. She cries in agony while the Luthor stands smiling, pleased with himself.

“Good Kryptonian, just give it a few minutes for the worst of it to wear off before I drag you back to Lena. The despair on her face when she sees you is going to be magnificent.”

Kara wants to reply, tell him to go to hell, but her blood currently feels like acid, so the best she manages is a grunt.

Nearly half an hour later she begins to feel the pain dull, her breathing gets easier. True to his word, Lex unhooks her and removes the cuffs, roughly grabbing her arm and dragging her through the maze of the mansion back to the prison.

She shouldn’t be comforted by this, knowing full well that once she is back inside her chances of getting her and Lena out diminish significantly.

Lex opens the door and tosses her inside, she stumbles and lands on the floor ungracefully, feeling her head connect with the solid wood flooring.

“Have fun licking her wounds Lena, like the bitch that you are.” He yells to the apartment.

Lena runs from the bedroom, panic clear on her face at the sight of Kara.

“Fucking asshole!” She yells, and grabs a photo frame off the small stand that stands along the wall, hurling it toward the door and at Lex. But it’s too late, he is already gone. The picture frame hits the door and shatters, much like Lena’s heart when she gets a better look at Kara.

“Kara,” she says, kneeling beside the woman, “can you hear me? Come on, let’s get you off the floor.”

She hooks her arms under the blonde’s shoulders and pushes her up, Kara leaning heavily against her.

“Kara? What did he give you? Tell me what he did.”

“Kryptonite. He has a liquid form of it, I have no idea how long it’s going to last.” She winces when she leans too heavily on Lena, her wound being pressed on.

“Can you help me up? He cut me up pretty bad, I want to put something on them in case of infection.”

Kara wouldn’t normally think twice about aftercare when she was wounded, just sit for an hour under the sunlight and watch as her wounds faded away. But with the Krytponite in her system she isn’t going to risk her luck. After all, luck hasn’t particularly been on her side recently.

Lena pulls her up and goes to wrap an arm around her before stopping when she notices the blood staining Kara’s shirt. Instead she takes her hand and leads her to the bathroom, motioning for her to sit on the toilet seat, much in the same position she was in not 24 hours ago.

She pulls out the medical supplies from where she watched Kara place them last night and kneels in front of her.

“Here, I can do it.” Lena says as Kara reaches for the bandages in her hand.

“It’s okay Lena, I got it.”

Lena huffs, annoyed at being rebuffed. She is trying to care for Kara like she has always cared for her, what’s the harm in that?

“No. You took care of me, so you’re going to sit there and let me patch you up. Don’t argue with me.”

Kara looks at her with a slightly surprised expression, but says nothing.

Lena takes the pair of scissors she finds in the medical kit and cuts the shirt from Kara’s body. Face to face with the full extent of her injuries, Lena can’t contain the sob that bursts from her throat.

“Lena stop, go to the bedroom and let me handle this, you’re getting upset.”

Lena sniffles, and shakes her head, hands resting on Kara’s knees. 

“I’m upset because you’re hurt! You’re  _ hurt _ , Kara! That’s not supposed to happen to you. God, the only thought that brought me peace was knowing that at least if you were Supergirl you couldn’t truly be hurt, but look at you!”

Kara watches the woman's outburst, not quite sure what to say. She had assumed up until recently Lena couldn’t care less about her injuries obtained as National City’s hero.

“I’m fine Lena, it’s just the Kryptonite. I won’t look this bad once I’m in the sun again. I was actually really excited to show you up close what happens, my bruises and cuts just disappear. It’s like magic! I know the scientist in you would be fascinated.” 

“Don’t try to downplay this Kara. There is no sunlight here. So shut up and let me fix you.”

Lena doesn’t wait for her reply, she doesn’t get one either. She dresses Kara’s wounds expertly, and Kara asks how she got so quick and precise at bandaging. She doesn’t have the heart to tell her about the numb hours after a cutting session when she would dress her wounds to prevent infection.

When she reaches the wound on Kara’s arm she sighs. It’s deep. And straight, precise. The healing time will be harder with a straight line rather than a jagged one.

“You need stitches.” She says calmly, picking up the butterfly closures, “This is going to have to do for now. At least the bleedings stopped.”

Once Lena has fixed her wounds to the best of her ability, Kara stands from her seat and moves to the bedroom. She sits on the bed gently, trying not to disturb her wounds.

“We need to talk.” She says when Lena enters the room.

“Okay, it’s not like there’s much else to do.”

“I’m serious, Lena. We need a plan to get out of here. Your brother is going to come back, and we need to be ready when he does.”

Kara gets off the bed, and gently holding her injured stomach begins to walk around the bedroom. She picks up different decorations, holding them to test their weight, now that she can actually feel a normal objects weight.

“We need something heavy. One of us can be ready to hit him and the other can provide a distraction.”

She drops a large metal candle holder, and winces. She has the ability to lift buildings, yet a two pound decoration defeated her.

“Kara, sit down.” Lena chastises, walking over to pick up the fallen object.

“I’m fine Lena, I doubt Lex is sitting down taking it easy right now.”

“I don’t care, you’re injured. And infected with Kryptonite, so for once just listen to me and sit your goddamn ass down.”

Kara blinks at her. Lena looks frustrated, her arms over her chest and her face in a frown.

“I’m fine. Now, help me to the kitchen.” 

Lena shakes her head but walks over to Kara nonetheless, letting her sling an arm over her shoulder.

“Yeah, you really should eat something, get some of your strength back.”

Kara lets out a quick laugh, “God no, I told you I don’t trust anything from your brother. You didn’t eat anything, did you?”

Lena stops by the counter, and Kara unhooks her arm from around her shoulder.

“No, I did not. I was busy worrying about my idiot friend who sacrificed herself to my alien hating brother.”

“Ah, ah,  _ best _ friend.” Kara corrects, kneeling by one of the cabinets.

“Yes!” she says victoriously, pulling a frying pan from the depths of the cabinet.

“What are you doing?”

Kara simply looks at her, but says nothing. Instead, she stands up quickly, and walks briskly to the bedroom, the pan still in her hand.

“Jesus,” Lena grumbles lowly, “Kara! Slow down before you hurt yourself.”

She jogs to the bedroom and Kara grabs her, pulling her inside before slamming the door.

“Kara! What is wrong with you! I just had to help you hobble to the kitchen and now you’re acting as if you’re fine.”

“Shh,” Kara says, turning around to face her. “I’m not fine, it hurts like a bitch but I have an idea.”

“One that you couldn’t tell me in the kitchen? And risk practically running back here and exerting yourse-”

“Lena! Stop! You don’t need to chastise every little thing I do, I’m an adult, I can take care of myself.”

“Well I’m so sorry for caring about you. What do you want me to do, Kara?”

Kara huffs, “Right now, I need you to listen.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alex had been anxious the entire ride to the Luthor Mansion. She wasn’t trusting of Lillian Luthor, she has tried to kill her sister multiple times. She could be lying, this entire thing could be some sick plot she and Lex dreamed up to get all of them in one place and end them once and for all.

Finally, Maggie turned down the offroad she had taken years ago when coming here for Ruby. She could feel the adrenaline kicking in, gearing up for whatever was about to be thrown at them.

When Maggie reached the end of the dirt road and they had all exited the vehicle, she watched as Lillian walked to the little panel box, typing in the ridiculously long passcode with quick precision.

Before their eyes, the mansion appeared. 

“Let’s go, it remains accessible only for a few minutes.” Lillian says, already walking up the pathway.

Upon entering the place, Alex is once again struck with how large the place is. For a second she almost suggests splitting up before she remembers Lillian is included in this, and she doesn’t want the woman out of her sight.

“Follow me, ladies. I’m more familiar with the layout.”

Alex and Maggie glance at each other before following behind her.

Alex touches the comm on the side of her head, “J’onn, we made it. We’re inside now and looking for them.”

_ “Copy, Agent. We are in position should you need assistance.” _

Lillian is approaching two big wooden doors, seemingly confident in where she is headed.

“Where are you leading us?” Maggie questions.

“Lex’s personal lab. He has everything you could dream of to turture a Kryptonian.”

Alex growls and Lillian glances back at her.

“Sorry, Agent. I don’t sugarcoat things.”

Inside the wooden doors is a hallway, which leads to the lab. Lillian places her hand on the bio-lock, and the door unlocks.

Entering the lab, Alex is horrified at what she sees. Chains on a back wall, various forms of Kryptonite are around the lab, and Alex can only hope Kara hasn’t been subject to any of it.

“They’re not here.” Alex says, frustrated.

“I’m aware, Agent Danvers. I just needed to get you and Detective Sawyer to a room with a lock.”

“Wha-” Alex begins to say turning around, but the door to the lab slams.

“Hey!” Maggie yells, slamming her fist against the window of the lab.

“Open the door you goddamn bitch!” 

“Lillian merely shakes her head, “Sorry, ladies. This is something only I can do.”

She turns around and strides down the hallway, leaving through the wooden doors.

“She tricked us. Fuck,”

“Calm down, Danvers. Get the team on their way, I know you didn’t want to, but we’re trapped.”

Alex presses her comm again, “J’onn, we need you. Lillian double-crossed us.”

_ “We’ll be there in ten minutes, Danvers.” _

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The plan had been relatively simple, find a way to make Lex come to them, and then render him unconscious before escaping. Kara thought about his security cameras he had placed around, and knew that dismantling them would cause him to be alarmed and come and check to see what happened. 

Lena had thought it was a good idea, except for the fact the cameras couldn’t be touched long enough to be taken down. That’s when Kara had walked to the living room, taken a chair from the dining area, and swung at the camera. Sure enough, the camera fell from its place near the ceiling.

“Wood,” Kara gasped, “doesn’t conduct electricity.” 

Lena had been quick to yell at her for her efforts, clearly all of her energy had been exerted in raising the chair and swinging it. But Kara ignored her, instead dragging the chair behind her as she moved to the next camera, all the while her breathing labored.

Kara was determined, but Lena had the most strength and better reflexes at the moment. She grabbed Kara’s hand and released it from it’s hold on the back of the chair. She hoisted it up, and swung at the camera.

Her body protested, still very much sore from Lex’s abuse, but she wasn’t about to let Kara continue with her injuries and the Kryptonite still in her system. She moved quickly, afraid if she slowed her muscles would be too sore to continue. In a matter of two minutes, all five camera’s were now broken, lying smashed on the ground.

They heard it then, the movement on the other side of the door.

Kara gasped and motioned to Lena, telling her to stand beside her. Lena moved as fast as her tired body allowed, each step causing her pain.

Lex entered the room, face clearly distorted in anger.

“I see you’ve gotten crafty, found a way to bypass my security protocols. You shouldn’t have done that.”

In Lena’s slightly pain delirious state, she doesn’t have time to register his hand raise. It’s not until she feels herself slammed to the floor and the loud bang of a gunshot does she understand what has happened. 

She groans and turns her head, her eyes falling to Kara who is now lying on the ground, blood seeping from her shoulder. 

“No!” She cries, pulling herself up onto her hands and knees. 

She crawls to her, her hands coming up to press on the wound.

“Why would you do that!” 

“Because you're human.” Kara groans.

“And you have Kryptonite in your blood! You’re not invulnerable right now Kara!” 

“Sorry, Ms. Danvers. Another example of you being dragged into Lena’s mess.”

Lena turns to her brother, tears beginning to fall down her face.

“Why would you do this? What have I ever done to you! What has  _ she _ done to you!” 

“You betrayed me! For her! She’s a disgrace to the human race, Lena. Her kind needs to be stopped, for the betterment of humanity.”

“No, you’re just an egomaniac who can’t accept not getting the credit all the time. You told me you would help me make the world a better place, but you used me. You only care if people worship you. Kara helps out of the goodness of her heart, and you only do it to look good. You’re not a hero Lex, and if anyone is a disgrace to humanity it’s you.”

Lena turns back to Kara now, who has her eyes closed.

“Hey, Kara, open your eyes.”

“S’ fine Lena. It just hurts.”

“I know, honey, but you need to open your eyes, okay? Come on, Kara, let me see your eyes.”

Kara opens her eyes and is met with Lena staring at her. She looks distraught, and her eyes are swimming with tears.

“Hey,” She replies lamely.

Lena only laughs before bringing a hand up to cup the side of her face. 

“Just hold on a while longer okay?” 

She stands up and Kara tries to reach for her wrist, but in her hazy state misses it.

“Wait,” she whispers, but Lena either doesn’t hear her or doesn’t care.

Lena begins the short walk to Lex, who only stares at her blankly.

“Ooo, what do you think you’re gonna do? You look as bad as your lover, minus the bullet hole. But, that can be arranged”

He raises his gun once again, and Lena thinks this is it. She’s going to die, and Kara will die as well, because of her inability to protect her.

Lex’s hand moves, and she closes her eyes.

_ Bang _

Nothing. 

She feels nothing. 

Her eyes open, and she sees her brother, face first on the floor, groaning in pain. The thing that surprises her the most, is seeing her mother behind him, gun raised and eyes wide.

“Lena!” She cries, stepping over the son she just shot.

“Mother, what did you do?”

Lillian takes her face in her hands, seemingly examining her face for injuries.

“Lena, you look awful, what did he do to you?”

“Nothing you’ve never done.” Lena replies coldly, pulling away from her touch.

She turns away and rushes back to Kara.

“Kara? Are you okay?”

“Hmm? Lena did I hear a gunshot?”

“Yes, don’t worry, everything is fine.”

She turns back to her mother who is now standing beside her brother who is lying on his back.

“You-you shot me.” He rasps out. “How could you do that?”

“How could I- silly boy. Look at what you’ve done to your sister!” Lillian cries.

“She betrayed me, us. She loves the  _ Kryptonian _ .”

Lillian looks over to where Lena is next to Kara and meets her daughter's gaze.

“Well, at least she is capable of love.” 

She walks from her son and kneels beside her daughter.

“What did he do to her?” She questions taking in the blood that is on Kara’s shirt.

Lena only stares at her, subtly shifting her body over Kara’s a bit more protectively.

“I’m trying to help you Len-”

“Get away from them!” Alex Danvers yells, entering the room, gun drawn.

Lillian raises her head and leans back to sit on her knees. Maggie approaches her and handcuffs her.

“Kara,” Alex whispers, rushing to her sister. “Kara? Can you hear me?”

Kara only groans and mumbles something that sounds vaguely like her name.

“God, J’onn! I need you to fly Kara to the tower. She’s lost a lot of blood, she can’t make the drive.”

Lena, does not like the idea of being separated from Kara. Her grip tightens around her hand, her mouth opening to protest, when Alex is giving the same instructions to M’gann for Lena.

“You look pretty busted up, too.” She supplies.

Lena isn’t thrilled at the idea of flying with someone who isn’t Kara, but she is even less thrilled at being away from her for the four hour drive.

J’onn scoops Kara off the floor, and disappears in a red haze. Lena lets out a squeak when M’gann extends her arms toward her.

“Can we leave through the front entrance?” She sheepishly asks.

She nods, and then turns to leave the room. Lena glances at her brothers now lifeless body, and she can’t find it in herself to feel remorse. 

She leaves the room without as much as a glance back at the prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Birthday to our Kelly Olsen, Queen Azie Tesfai!


End file.
